to establish the fact in a satisfactory manner; but so many other instances may be referred to, that it seems more reasonable to conclude that Mr. Rickman was wrong in this one particular, notwithstanding his general care and accuracy, than that all these buildings were rebuilt twenty or thirty years after the time of their erection.
The Eleanor crosses are in the Decorated style, of rather later character than Merton chapel; that they were erected between 1290 and 1300, and were the work of English architects and sculptors, has been demonstrated by the valuable collection of records relating to them, edited by Mr. Hudson Turner, and presented to the Roxburghe Club by Beriah Botfield, Esq. Acton Burnell castle, Shropshire, built by Bishop Burnell in 1274—92, is of Decorated character, though early in the style; St. Ethelbert's gate-house at Norwich, and those parts of the cathedral that were repaired after the riots in 1275, and re-consecrated by Bishop Middleton in 1278, are also of early Decorated work. The parts of Exeter cathedral built by Bishop Quivil in 1279—91, nearly every stone of which may be identified by the valuable and copious fabric rolls of that interesting edifice, are of the same character: all of these have geometrical tracery in the windows, with mouldings and details, very similar to those of Merton. The nave of York, commenced in 1291; the chapter-house of Wells, built in the time of Bishop William de Marchia, 1292—1302; the monuments of Queen Eleanor, in Westminster abbey; Archbishop Beckham, at Canterbury; Edmund Crouch- back, at Westminster; and numerous others, all agree in the same general features and details. This list of authorities might be considerably enlarged, but these are probably sufficient to establish the introduction of the Decorated style into England as taking place in the reign of Edward I. rather than in that of his successor, and consequently to throw back the Transition buildings generally to the latter part of the reign of Henry III. This is, however, contrary to the received theory, and even Mr. Paley, in his recent valuable work on Gothic mouldings, has classed those of Transition character as belonging to the time of Edward I.
The latest extract we have selected from the rolls proves that the vestry was building in 1310. An examination of this structure, which is situated on the south side of the altar end of the chapel, shews that it was an addition to the original
